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Steelers draft pick thought Ben Roethlisberger was a team secretary

Steelers draft pick thought Ben Roethlisberger was a team secretary

By Chris Chase |

(AP)David DeCastro's phone was ringing. On the other end was a two-time Super Bowl champion and the man DeCasto was drafted to protect. The Stanford guard, selected No. 24 by the Pittsburgh Steelers in Thursday's NFL draft, was getting a congratulatory call from Ben Roethlisberger.

DeCastro answered and Roethlisberger welcomed him to the team. The rookie's response? "Did you get those flight plans?"

DeCastro thought Roethlisberger was the team's traveling coordinator booking his flight to Pittsburgh for his introductory press conference. He apparently didn't realize he was receiving a call from someone a little higher up on the franchise's organizational flowchart.

"He was saying, 'Did you get those flight plans? Did you get those flight plans?''' Roethlisberger told a group at the Blair County Convention Center over the weekend. After a few seconds, DeCastro figured it out.

"I can't wait once we get started to get on him about that,'' Roethlisberger joked, thus ensuring that DeCastro won't go a single day of training camp without hearing his six-word question.

DeCastro is expected to play immediately on Pittsburgh's beleaguered offensive line. The team was surprised he slipped all the way to No. 24.

"We didn't think David would be here, we valued him that high," Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert said after the first round. "We said earlier there are a few special players in this group. He was one of them. He's a great player with excellent intangibles -- character, tough, leader, smart."